Android Co-Founder Andy Rubin Giving up Google for Hardware Incubator

Andy Rubin, the former chief of Google's mobile operating system Android, is leaving the company. Rubin was heading up Google's robotics efforts. James Kuffner, a Google research scientist who is in the same team, will replace Rubin.

Rubin's departure comes 18 months after Sundar Pichai took over the Android division. Rubin will be starting a hardware startup incubator, according to the Wall Street Journal which broke the news story.

"I want to wish Andy all the best with what's next," Google CEO Larry Page said in a statement. "With Android he created something truly remarkable-with a billion plus happy users. Thank you."

Rubin's popularity at Google multiplied significantly, thanks to the Android, the most popular mobile operating system running billions of smartphones. In 2013, Sundar Picahi took the charge of Android and Chrome web browser.

Before Google, Rubin worked at Apple, and then co-founded the device maker Danger. He then co-founded Android with Rich Miner in 2003. Google acquired Android in 2005.

Over the past few months, a number of high-profile Google executives left the company. Google recently made India-born Sundar Pichai in charge of most of the key products within Google, including infrastructure, Google Research, and more.